10-month works for Tube interchange

Travellers will have to contend with disruption for most of next year at one of the busiest interchange stations on the London Underground.

Starting on January 8, work to replace escalators at Embankment station will mean that Bakerloo line and Northern line trains will not stop at the station for around 10 months.

Trains using the District line and the Circle line also pass through Embankment, which is used by thousands of mainline rail passengers who travel in and out of nearby Charing Cross rail station.

The District and Circle services will not be affected by the escalator work.

London Underground (LU) had looked at ways of keeping the station open for all lines while the work was being done, but this would have meant the project taking as long as 75 weeks rather than expected 43 weeks.

The escalators were installed more than 80 years ago and were last refurbished in the 1970s.

LU operations director Nigel Holness said: "We have explored various options to carry out these works and keep the station open. However due to the layout of the station it is not possible to carry out these works while Northern and Bakerloo line services are stopping at the station.

"We have taken the decision to have trains on both lines non-stopping so that we can carry out the works in one big hit which is the most efficient and least disruptive option. Passengers will still be able to use Circle and District line services.

"Customers wanting to travel to and from the Northern and Bakerloo lines are advised to use either Waterloo or Charing Cross which is a couple of minutes walk from the station. We apologise for the disruption to journeys this will cause but the works are vital for the continued safe operation of the station."